Review | Information on access to birth control

The Senate is holding a vote as attacks on birth control could threaten its passage

Available today: Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (DN.Y.) is expected to hold a vote on the state’s right to contraception, after many Republicans said they oppose the law as unnecessary and excessive. The bill, intended to put GOP lawmakers on the ballot in an election year, would prevent states from passing laws that limit access to contraceptives, including birth control, intrauterine devices (IUDs) and other methods. which prevents pregnancy.

This action comes as some conservatives are trying to reduce access to birth control by spreading lies about how different methods work to prevent pregnancy. Lauren reported on the headline this morning about red state politics and contraception. At the same time, Republican leaders are struggling to assure voters that they have no intention of restricting the right to contraception, which polls show the majority of Americans favor.

The split reflects growing Republican tension over the political costs of the “humane” movement to give birth to a fetus with human rights, which has fueled the debate over in vitro fertilization.

“There’s just been a ripple effect where right-wing lawmakers have undermined the ability of Republicans to talk about birth control in a meaningful and meaningful way,” it said. Courtney Joslinwho leads public policy research on issues affecting women and families for R Street Institutea center-right think tank.

Many Americans do not understand the difference between abortion pills, which end a pregnancy, and emergency contraception, which prevents it. Anti-abortion groups are stepping in to fill that knowledge gap with misinformation.

Here is a picture: An anti-abortion group in Louisiana killed a law to guarantee the right to birth control by mistakenly comparing emergency contraceptives with abortion drugs. In Idaho, a think tank focused on “biblical practice” is pushing state lawmakers to restrict access to emergency contraceptives and IUDs by calling them “abortifacies”.

Major medical organizations say it is inappropriate to prescribe emergency contraceptive pills, a form of contraception used a few days after unprotected sex, and IUDs, which consider long-term and reversible, as causing abortion because none of them terminates an existing pregnancy.

Republican leaders and policy experts insist that there is no widespread effort to restrict access to birth control, calling it a baseless claim made by Democrats to vote before the presidential election.

“There is no organization that prohibits birth control, and to suggest such is an insult to politics,” he said. Roger Severinovice president of local policy for Heritage Foundation, a sustainable think tank. It is foolish to think that contraception is in danger.

However, the Republicans at least 17 means blocked Democratic-led attempts to pass legislation guaranteeing the right to birth control through 2022, according to a Post analysis of the law. A March KFF A survey found that 1 in 5 Americans say they believe access to birth control is at risk.

Birth control advocates say the opinion comes from a Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas‘s write about his thoughts concuring to overturn Roe v. Wade that the group should consider the decisions based on the same legal model. That includes the 1965 court ruling Griswold v. Connecticut to ensure the right to contraception.

Adding to the growing uncertainty are new laws restricting access to abortion in some states, such as Idaho, which define life as beginning at conception, leaving room for birth control restrictions, to follow abortion rights advocates.

On the sideThe Post’s Sabrina Malhi reports on the most important event of contraception of a different type: The male contraceptive pill has shown promise in the first clinical trials.

The Post is reporting on an outbreak of highly dangerous dairy cow flu that has infected at least three dairy workers. We’ve answered some common questions in our previous posts, but we’d love to hear what you still want to know as we cover this topic and press government and industry officials for answers.

Email fenit.nirappil@washpost.com and lena.sun@washpost.com with your questions or any suggestions for what you would like to see in the future.

First Health Briefing: Ron Wyden calls for immediate HHS action on cybersecurity

The seat of Senate Finance Committee calls on the Biden administration “to take immediate, enforceable steps to require major health care companies to improve their cyber security practices,” according to a letter sent to the HHS Secretary . Xavier Becerra today and shared with a colleague And Diamond.

Oregon Democrat case study: latest cyberattack by Change Health Careunder the UnitedHealthGroup which processes billions of medical claims a year.

In an interview with Wyden’s panel last month, the CEO of UnitedHealth Andrew Witty revealed that hackers accessed Change’s systems by using a compromised username and password on a server that lacked multi-factor authentication; Change’s shutdown caused uproar across the US health care system, and Witty warned that as many as a third of Americans may have had their confidential information exposed. when cheating.

“It is clear that HHS’s current approach to healthcare cybersecurity — self-regulation and voluntary best practices — is woefully inadequate,” Wyden wrote to Becerra.

Four things Wyden wants HHS to do:

• Create minimum, mandatory cybersecurity technical standards for “critical system agencies,” which are critical parts of the US critical infrastructure.
• Set strict requirements for those organizations, so that they can quickly recover from a cyberattack or other disaster.
• Conduct periodic cybersecurity assessments of covered entities and business partners.
• Provide technical assistance on cybersecurity for healthcare providers.

Meanwhile, across the Capitol…

The House can vote as soon as today $378.6 billion package to finance the Department of Veterans Affairs and military construction for the 2025 budget.

Why it’s important: Republicans have added several provisions to the must-pass bill, including some that would overturn VA regulations on access to abortion and gender-based care. The dynamic creates a high conflict with the Democratic-controlled Senate, by President Biden accuses GOP lawmakers of “wasting time on partisan bills.” (Having déjà vu? We wrote about a similar culture war last year).

FDA panel addresses potential crisis for psychedelics advocates

Independent consultants to Food and Drug Administration strongly voted against the therapeutic use of MDMA as an effective treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder, finding that its benefits did not outweigh its risks to patients, staff-‘ with us. Daniel Gilbert and David Ovalle report.

Although the vote is not binding, the advisory committee’s recommendation could carry more weight as the agency decides for the first time whether the mind-altering compound — long classified among the most dangerous substances controlled – can be used legally as a medical treatment.

To take a closer look: Supporter Lykos Therapeutics had conducted two recent clinical trials that showed a significant improvement in PTSD symptoms among patients treated with MDMA compared to those who received a placebo. The details, however, are unusually sloppy.

Before Tuesday’s advisory meeting, the FDA staff themselves asked a lot of questions about possible deviations in tests because patients found out if they actually received the drug. The agency also highlighted the dangers of heart disease and substance abuse.

Here’s the new one: Two-thirds of Americans have little or no confidence that the United States can take care of its aging population, according to a Gallup and Western Life choice.

Seventy-three percent people under 65 are worried that Medicare won’t be available when they need it, since 67 percent in 2022. The greatest impact is among those aged 50 to 64.

The survey, which provides an in-depth look at Americans’ attitudes, behaviors and attitudes toward aging, also found that:

• There are an estimated 49 million Americans think of health care costs as a “huge burden,” including 7.5 million adults age 65 or older with Medicare.
• About a third say they are worried about their ability to buy prescription drugs in the next 12 months, from 25 percent in 2022.

The CDC has completed guidelines recommends that certain people take a common antibiotic as a morning pill to help prevent the spread of syphilis, gonorrhea and chlamydia.

A federal judge has permanently banned other efforts in North Carolina restricting how abortion pills can be distributed, they say is in violation of the FDA’s mandate, Gary D. Robertson reports for Associated Press.

The federal health department should complete a comprehensive national risk assessment of the possibility of improper payments in the Medicaid program, the Government Accountability Office advised in its first update of recommendations.

What the first four participants in the FDA’s Operation Warp Speed ​​​​for rare diseases are dealing with (By Zachary Brennan | Endpoints News)

Senators clash over abortion policy against presidential campaign backdrop (By Sarah Owermohle | Stat)

More than half of US adults will have heart disease by 2050, study finds (By Jen Christensen, CNN)

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